Railway switch heel block



Jan. 19, 1965 3,1662 79 F. W. KERN RAILWAY SWITCH HEEL BLOCK Filed Feb. 6, 1962 INVENT OR fled Kern 3? WWW ATTORNEY United States Patent ()fiice 3,166,279 Patented Jan. 19, 1965 3,166,279 RAILWAY SWITCH IEEL BLOCK Fred W. Kern, Bethlehem, Pa., assignor to Bethlehem Steel Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Feb. 6, 1962, Ser. No. 171,492 Claims. or. 246-441) This invention relates in general to turnouts for railways, and in particular to an improved heel block for switches.

Standard railway turnouts are track arrangements which permit a car or locomotive to pass from one track to another without derailment, by means of a switch at the entrance to the turnout.

The switch itself basically comprises a pair of movable switch points. Points are longitudinally tapered rails which are designated as either right or left hand in accordance with their design for either right-hand or lefthand turnouts. As one point closes against an adjacent rail, the other point is opened, by means of connecting rods, levers and slide plates. An open point should provide sufiicient flangeway for the largest wheels used.

A typical turnout will then comprise a pair of stock rails, one being straight and the other curved, a curved closure rail and switch point adapted to contact the straight stock rail, and a straight closure rail with its point engageable with the curved stock rail. Heel blocks will maintain rail spacing at the heel of the switch, and provide fixed anchorages to which the points are hinged. Similar arrangements are shown, for example, in the expired US. Patents to Mariman, 1,721,460 (1929), and Enstrom, 1,818,885 (1931).

Turnouts of sharp curvatures have a strong tendency to cause derailments due to wheels mounting the high side of the curve, and also to cause excessive wear of wheel flanges. A fixed inner guard rail behind the heel block will preserve proper flangeway and maintain the standard guard check gage for the length of the guard rail.

If the turnout is especially sharp and the points are even moderately long, however, the large angular divergence or spread at the heel of the switch will necessitate the use of additional guarding means upon or ahead of the inner heel block.

In some prior turnouts, this additional guarding function has been suplied by a guarded point, formed by a side piece of tapered rail attached to and hinged to move with the switch point, which side piece served in effect as a moving guard rail. However, this renders the switch very heavy andcumbersome, and expensive in terms of added material and labor.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to enable a lighter and cheaper plain point (without the side piece) to be used in locations where it had previously been necessary to use a guarded point.

Another object is to provide an inner heel block having means which when the preceding point is open will oppose side thrust and move the flange of the wheel closer to the curved stock rail.

A further object is to provide a strongly reinforced heel block with a nose portion which will prevent a wheel flange or any dragging equipment from striking the end of an associated guard rail.

An additional object is to provide means which will maintain desired fiangeways on both sides of the block.

Still other objects, purposes and advantages of this invention will appear hereinafter in the specification and drawings, and in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan View of a portion of the inner side of a railway switch showing the improved heel block connecting straight closure rail, guard rail, and curved stock rail;

FIGURE 2 is a more detailed top plan view of the subject heel block and rails;

FIGURE 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIGURE 4 is another section on the line 4-4- FIG. 2; and

FIGURE 5 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line 5-5 of FIG. 2.

While a turnout may be of either hand, the present drawings refer to the inner side of a left hand turnout, which preferably will include a straight switch point 1, an aligned straight closure rail 2, a curved stock rail 3, a guard rail 4, a heel block 5, and a supplemental or auxiliary spacer block 6. Thus, when the switch point 1 is closed, a car wheel (not shown) passing thereover is diverted from rail 3 to rail 2. If the switch point 1 is open, the wheel continues to pass on rail 3. The other side of the turnout can comprise a straight stock rail, a curved switch point, and a curved closure rail, which parts will be understood in accordance with the disclosure of the above-cited patents to be conventional and are therefore not necessary to be shown.

The heel block 5 as shown in the drawings is a ribbed boxlike hollow steel casting comprising a main body portion 7 between the curved stock rail 3 and the heel portion 7 of the switch point 1, and supplemental spacing means extending rearwardly therefrom on opposite sides of the guard rail 4. One member of the spacing means may well be an integral extension 8 of the block 5 as shown, with the auxiliary block 6 being the other spacing member, thereby combining strength with ease of installation.

The heel block 5 as shown is open at the bottom, and has a substantially L-shaped top chord portion 9, with one long side wall 10 engaging the head and base of the straight closure rail 2 and the heel of the switch point 1. The other side of the heel block 5 has two shorter staggered side walls 11 and 12in similar engagement with one side of the guard rail 4 and the curved stock rail 3 respectively. The auxiliary spacer block 6 is disposed on the other side of the guard rail 4 and also against said curved stock rail 3.

With the exception of the switch point 1, the rails are securely fastened to the blocks 5 and 6 by standard track bolts 13 provided with lock washers 14 and nuts 15 in understood manner, the bolts extending through the usual holes 16.

There is the usual clearance 17 between the heel block 5 and a bent joint bar 18, while washers B, and nuts 20 are provided on shoulder bolts 21 extending transversely through holes 22 in the side walls 10 and 12 of the main body portion 7 of the block, as in FIG. 3, so as to allow a free hinge motion of said switch point 1.

With further reference to FIG. 3, the enlarged or shoulder portion of the shoulder bolt 21 permits the heel block 5 and the bent joint bar 18 to be fastened together in spaced relation to each other, while the hole for said shoulder through the interposed web of the heel of the switch point 1 is of sufiicient size to permit free sidewise motion of the switch point within its intended range. The toe end (not shown) of the switch may be actuated manually by any standard connecting rod and switch stand arrangement.

Immediately forward of the guard rail 4, the top chord 9 on the main body portion 7 of the heel block 5 is provided with a gradually inclined and triangular or arrowshaped central top rib 23. The height and width of said rib at its rear end will be substantially equal to the height and width of the head of the guard rail 4. Said rib is smoothly tapered forwardly and downwardly to a minimum height and width of about /2 at the tip to avoid breakage, and has the side 24 facing the straight closure rail substantially parallel thereto. If necessary, the rib and head or" the guard railmaybe suitably ground at the places marked 25 and 26, also at the recess 27 beside the point I. The intent is to restore proper flangeway (about 1 /4") on the side 23 beside th e guard rail 4 when the switch is closed, and full wheel clearance (about 5 /2") beside the point 1 and closure rail 2 when the switch is opened, but without removing so much metal that strength might be impaired.

This invention protects the end of the guard rail, and also serves to maintain the desired direction and gage of the wheels without derailments even at sharp turnouts.

I claim:

l. In a railway switch:

(a) a curved stock rail;

(b) a curved guardrail adjacent said stock rail;

(c) a straight switch point; I I

(d) a straight closure rail;

(e) a switch heel block comprising a main body member interposed between the curved stock rail and the switch point;

(f) a pair of spacing members extending rearwardly from said main body member;

(g) one of said'spacingmernbers being positioned between the stock rail'and the aforesaid guard rail;

(h) the other of said members being positioned between the guard rail and the closure rail and being integral with the main body member;

(i) means securing the switch point to the main body member of the heel block;

(j) a raised rib on the main body member forward of the guard rail;

(k) the height and width of the rib at its rear end being substantially equal to the height and width of the head of the guard rail; and

(I) said rib tapering forwardly and downwardly and having the side facing the straight closure rail substantially parallel thereto.

2. In a railway turnout comprising a curved stock rail, a straight switch point adapated to intersect with said stock rail, and a straight closure rail aligned with said switch point, i

(a) a switch heel block comprising main body member;

(b) a pair of spacing members extending rearwardly therefrom; Y

(0) one of said spacing members being adapted to be positioned between the stock rail and the guard rail;

(d) the other of said spacing members being an integral extension of said main body member and adapted to be positioned between said guard rail and the closure rail;

(2) means for securing the main body member of the heel block to the switch point; I

(f) a raised V-shaped rib on the main body portion abutting the end of said guard rail;

(g) the height and width of the rib at its rear end being substantially equal to the height and width of the head of the guard rail; and

(h) said rib tapering forwardly and downwardly and having a wheel-directing channel on each side thereof.

3. In a railway switch including a curved stock rail,

therefrom on opposite sides of the guard rail, and means for securing the aforesaid means between said stock rail and closure rail.

4. In a railway switch as claimed in claim 3, said rail spacing means compr'isingat least one integral extension of the main body of the heel block.

-5. In a railway switch having on its inner side a curved stock rail, a parallel guard rail, and an adjacent straight closure rail and a connected switch point, the combination therewith of a heel block comprising a hollow steel casting which is L-shapcd in a horizontal plane, the longest side wall of the casting engaging the head and base of the straight closure rail and the switch point, two shorter staggered side walls in spaced opposite relation to said longest side wall of the casting engaging in sequence the guard rail and the curved stock rail respectively, and a longitudinal rib on said casting having substantially the form of a triangle with its base flush with the end of the guard rail.

References Cited in the file of this patent I FOREIGN PATENTS 388,397. Germany Jan. 12, 1924 

1. IN A RAILWAY SWITCH (A) A CURVED STOCK RAIL: (B) A CURVED GUARD RAIL ADJACENT SAID STOCK RAIL; (C) A STRAIGHT SWITCH POINT; (D) A STRAIGHT CLOSURE RAIL; (E) A SWITCH HEEL BLOCK COMPRISING A MAIN BODY MEMBER INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE CURVED STOCK RAIL AND THE SWTICH POINT; (F) A PAIR OF SPACING MEMBERS EXTENDING REARWARDLY FROM SAID MAIN BODY MEMBER; (G) ONE OF SAID SPACING MEMBERS BEING POSITIONED BETWEEN THE STOCK RAIL AND THE AFORESAID GUARD RAIL; (H) THE OTHER OF SAID MEMBERS BEING POSITIONED BETWEEN WITH THE GUARD RAIL AND THE CLOSURE RAIL AND BEING INTEGRAL WITH THE MAIN BODY MEMBER; (I) MEANS SECURING THE SWITCH POINT TO THE MAIN BODY MEMBER OF THE HEEL BLOCK; (J) A RAISED RIB ON THE MAIN BODY MEMBER FORWARD OF THE GUARD RAIL; (K) THE HEIGHT AND WIDTH OF THE RIB AT ITS REAR END BEING SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE HEIGHT AND WIDTH OF THE HEAD OF THE GUARD RAIL; AND (L) SAID RIB TAPERING FORWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY AND HAVING THE SIDE FACING THE STRAIGHT CLOSURE RAIL SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL THERETO. 